Rumpled feathers
by SeekingToBeQueen
Summary: Danica didn't mean to wish her twin siblings away, but what's said is said. Now she must run the labyrinth to save her siblings from becoming goblins. She just hopes that along the way someone would help her; even if a deal has to be struck in the process.
1. Chapter 1

She hated her birthday; every year was the same. She would wake up to her family circled around her. Her youngest siblings would jump up onto the bed and try to wrestle her out of it before her mother would pull them off and give her the only gift they could afford. It wasn't that she was ungrateful, the contrary actually, but she wished they'd spend the money on something more important. Her mother would have nothing of it.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" her mother asked, brushing a loose strand of her hair out of her face.

"Yeah Danica, we want t'see," Paisley, her younger sister, whined.

The wrapped gift felt heavy in her hands as she started to open it. She closed her eyes and wripped the last of the paper off. Hoping it wasn't too expensive, Danica opened her eyes and saw a small red book. In golden letters 'The Labyrinth' was printed on the front. Danica traced her fingers over the name, a small smile forming on her lips.

"We didn't know if you'd like it; aunt Sarah had a simillar book when she was growing up," her mother said, cuddling into her husband's side.

"But it's a book," Matthew, Paisley's twin brother, said and scrunched up his nose.

"Thank you," Danica said and kissed her mother and father.

"Alright, whose gonna help with the housework?" Danica's mother led the twins out of the room.

"Nope," the twin chirped and ran out the door.

Her mother winked at her and rushed off to stop the twins from breaking down the house.

R-J-R-J-R-J

There was a storm thundering outside, the patter of rain calming the entire house. Danica was lying on top of her bed, her new book opened in front of her. She was engrossed by the story and had already read it halfway through. She had skipped lunch and dinnertime was drawing near, but she couldn't get herself to stop reading.

Her eyes flew over the pages as the story became more and more interesting. She could squeel from excitement; the end of the book was drawing near and she was busy reading the last few pages.

There was a knock on her door, then another. Soon it started to sound as if a marching band was passing through their house. The twins; her lip curled in disgust as she lost her place in the book and had to read it again. She couldn't concentrate on the words in front of her. After re-reading the same piece for a third time Danica gave up.

"What!"

"Mom says you have to eat," Paisley said.

"Yeah, and leave the stupid book," Matthew sneered.

"I'll be right out," Danica said and started reading again.

She had read a whole page before the noise started again. She burried her head in her book. The noise stopped but before Danica could celebrate, the twins came rushing into her room. They jumped on top of her and wrestled with her legs. Paisley got carried away and bit into her leg.

"Ouch, Paisley. Stop it!"

She didn't stop though and while Danica's attention was off of her book Matthew grabbed it out from under her hands. He held it up in front of her and licked the page she had been reading.

"Matthew! Stop it, give that back," Danica cried.

She ignored Paisley who curled herself around her leg and dove for her book. She couldn't move Paisley though; she ended up sprawled over the floor.

"Get off of me!" she shouted and dove for the book again.

Matthew closed the book with a plop and held it close to his butt. "Don't!" He turned his back to her so that she could see what he was about to do.

"I wish the goblins would take both of you away, right now!" The words slipped out of her lips before she could stop it.

Matthew gave her a confused look before he giggled to himself. The book was dangerously close to his rear when, out of nowhere, a puff of glittery smoke consumed her twin sibling. Danica rubbed at her eyes, wishing it was all a dream, but all that remained of her siblings was the glitters that clung to her pant leg and the carpet.

Thunder struck close to her window and an owl sputtered against it. Danica jumped to her feet, grabbing her book, and inched backwards. She bumped into a small figure, which glued itself to her leg. Danica's breath caught in her throat when she saw the small fury creature staring up at her. More creatures tumbled into her room.

The owl burst into the room and flew a small circle above their head before it settled on the windowsill. It started to transform and right before her eyes a man appeared in the place of the owl. The same type of glitter from afore drifted into the room, seamingly coming out of the man. He flicked his blond her out of his face before focusing his mismatched eyes upon her. He was waiting expectantly, as if it was Danica that came to his house.

"No? Not even going to guess?" He tilted his head to the side and smirked.

Danica stared at him, a frown forming on her face. "You're a magician?"

"Not quite," he said and spread his arms in the air, "I am the Goblin King."

"Danica, it's a pleasure. But can I have my siblings back now?" Danica asked.

"What's said is said," the Goblin King said, his voice becoming dramarically deep. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"We were playing, I didn't think you'd actually come for them."

"Oh, you didn't?" He lifted his eyebrows and tried to hold back a smirk.

"Where are they?" Danica asked, clutching her book to her chest.

"You know very well where they are... You've read the book."

"The book?"

"Danica, go back to reading your book. Live your life, forget about your siblings."

"I can't, they didn't do anything wrong. It was a mistake, give them back."

The Goblin King titled his head slightly before he lifted his hand, "I've brought you a gift..." A small glass ball formed at the tip of his fingers.

Danica frowned at the ball but made no move to take it from him. She shifted her gaze back to his eyes.

"It's a crystal," he said and started running it over his hands. Danica trailed the movement of the ball, finding herself fascinated by it. "But if you turn it this way... And look into it, it will show you your dreams. But this is not a gift for an ordinary girl who lives with screaming toddlers. Toddlers who bother her day in and day out," he paused, a smirk forming on his lips, "Do you want it?"

Danica stared at the crystal and back up into his eyes. "Then forget the twins."

Danica shook her head, tears forming in her eyes, "No, I didn't want them gone in the first place. I want them back..."

"Danica," he said, his voice full of warning as he held up the crystal. It turned into a snake that curled itself around his fingers. He straightened the snake between his two hands. "Don't defy me..."

He threw the snake at her. Danica tried to jump out of the way but the goblin wrapped around her leg prevented her. The snake turned into a scarf the moment it touched her. She held the scarf between two of her fingers before dropping it. It turned into a goblin and it scampered off.

The other goblins giggled. "You're no match for me Danica."

"I want the twins back." Danica stared at him pleadingly, but the Goblinking scoffed and moved towards her.

Danica shrank back slightly as the Goblinking lifted his hand and pointed behind him, through the window. "They're there; in my castle."

Danica strained to see. The goblin at her feet scampered off at his king's command and Danica stepped up to the window staring at the figure in the distance. Before it lay miles of turns and twists- the labyrinth. Danica could not believe her eyes, she would never be able to reach the castle. Her heart sank at the sight.

"Do you still want to go look for them?" the Goblin King whisperred in her ear.

Danica turned slowly to him; momentarily shocked that her room had disappeared. "Is that the castle beyond the goblin city?"

"Turn back Danica; turn back before it's too late," he said, his voice dramatically low. She ignored him and turned back to the labyrinth. "What a pity..."

"It doesn't look that far..." Danica said, more to herself than to the Goblin King.

"It's farther than it looks," he said from beside her. "Time is short- you have 13 hours in which to solve this labyrinth before your siblings become like us. Such a pity..." The Goblin King started to fade away until he was completely gone.

Danica took a deep breath and started towards the labyrinth.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well it can't be that hard," Danica said to herself and ran to the labyrinth.

She turned a corner and the walls of the labyrinth towered in front of her. A trickling of water caught her attention; a dwarf was urinating close by into a pool of water. She turned her back to him, waiting for him to finish.

"Oh, oh. Sorry about that," he said as he saw her. He quickly zipped up his pants.

"It's alright." Danica turned back to him. He scrunched up his wart-filled face the moment he saw her. He turned his back to her and grabbed the bug-repellant from the ground.

"What do _you_ want?"

"I have to run this labyrinth to save my siblings, would you help me?"

He ignored her and continued on towards small flying insects. Danica followed after him as he sprayed the insect with the bug-repellant calling out his count. She bent close to the insect and saw that it was a small human-like creature. It curled in on itself and coughed.

"What are they? Why do you kill them?" she asked as she hovered over the creature.

"Their fairies, nasty little creatures."

"But don't they grant wishes? I've only heard stories in which they were kind, like fairy godmothers."

"Shows what you know... 82," he said and watched as another fairy fluttered to the floor.

"That's horrible," Danica said. The fairy at her feet convulged and her faint glow faded.

"No, I'm Hoggle."

"I'm Danica, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm sure it is," Hoggle said and continued on along the wall of the labyrinth.

"How do I get into the labyrinth?"

Hoggle sighed and pointed to a large door, "You gets in there." The doors swung open, revealing only a brickwall blocking the path forward.

"Thank you."

"Yeah well, you're on your own. Have fun," Hoggle said and went back to his task. "I'm not doing this again," he said under his breath.

Danica nodded and stepped through the door. The path stretched endlessly into both directions, each looking the same as the other. She closed her eyes and spun in a circle, when she opened it she stared down the left sided path. She shrugged and set off into that direction.

The path loomed endlessly in front of her; it didn't matter how long she walked the path stayed the same. She stepped over a large glittery root and side stepped a dried-out branch hanging from the wall. It felt as if an eternity passed and still she hadn't gotten anywhere. It all looked the same.

The roots on the ground grew thicker and Danica found herself stepping over them more often. She broke off in a run but it didn't change anything. She stopped and huffed for breath. Her eyes trailed over the wall. Eyes were stairing back at her, small eyes growing from the wall as a sort of plant.

Danica giggled to herself as the eyes moved and made soft cooing noises at her. She stroked their mossy stems and they purred at the attention. "I really do have to keep going," she cooed to them.

They shrunk back from her, pressing against the wall. Danica frowned. She reached for them again but they didn't react, their were focused on something behind her. She shook her head at their strangeness. They squeeled softly and a shadow fell over her. Danica stood quickly and turned to face the person to whom the shadow belonged.

Her glare dissipated as she saw another man in front of her, not the Goblin King who she believed it to be. The man titled his head as he regarded her. His leather clothes squeaked with every move he made. The patterns on his leather jacket reminded her eerily of a crocodile.

"You aren't going to get anywhere if you stop to talk to the plants, dearie," he said, scrunching up his nose.

"I know. I'm not really making any progress with this labyrinth, could you perhaps show me how to get away from this endless path?"

"I could..." he said and nodded his head, tapping his forefinger on his cheek as he held his chin.

"Oh thank you, I thought I'd never get..."

"Ah, ah, ah. I never said I would help you," the man said, raising his high-pitched voice.

"Well would you?" Danica crossed her arms over her chest.

"How about we make a deal?" He brought his hands together in front of him tapping his forefingers together.

"What kind of deal?"

"One that would benefit the both of us..."

"Would you take me to the castle beyond the goblin city, then?" Danica asked.

"No, no. Can't interfere with another man's deal. You made a deal with Jareth, _you _have to hold your end of the bargain," he said.

"Then how are you going to help me?" Danica asked.

"One can always... let a hint _slip_ without meaning to," he said and grinned at her.

"Alright, but what do you want in return?"

"Nothing much, nothing you won't miss." He said and gestured wildly through the air. "Your firstborn child?" He giggled uncontrollably folding his hands in front of him.

"Ah, no. What is it with you people and taking babies?" Danica said.

The man took a step closer to her and the eye-plant behind her started to squeel in fright. "It doesn't look like you have much of a choice." His lip curled up in disgust as the eye-plant reached a higher pitch in their squeels. "Enough!"

With one gesture of his hand the eye-plant fell limp, sagging against the wall. Danica stared at him in horror before she rushed to them. They remained limp as she stroked their mossy stems.

"What did you do to them?" Danica asked, raising her voice. She twirled back to him.

The man was examining his long, claw-like nails. "It's only temporary, they were becoming a nuisance. Well more than they usually are." He giggled in delight. He turned serious, "Do we have a deal?"

"No, I'd rather face the labyrinth alone."

Danica spun on her heel and headed down the path. She trailed her fingers along the wall as she walked. She couldn't imagine how fearful her siblings were, and it was the thought of them that drove her on.

Her hand trailed along the wall until it hit open air. Danica paused and saw that her hand was stretched through the wall. She pushed against it until she reached the other side. She was officially inside the labyrinth; the path started to twist and turn as she had seen from the hill on the outside.

She turned to the right, contemplating if she should head that way. The path looked dried out, as if it hadn't rained there for centuries. The other path looked more dangerous, it was dark and filled with vines that hung from the walls. She opted for the right side.

"I wouldn't go that way, dearie," the man said from where he was perched atop the wall.

"I thought you wouldn't help unless I agreed to that stupid deal."

"Helping? No, no. I was narrowing it down," he said.

"Ok, thanks," Danica said and sprinted down the left path.

"Should have taken the other one, it goes straight to the castle," he said and jumped down from his perch. But Danica was already out of ear-shot. He strutted after her.

She was bound to give in and accept his deal; he could sense a desperate soul.


	3. Chapter 3

Danica strayed deeper into the convines of the labyrinth. Vines and moss covered the walls and most of the walk way, making it difficult to navigate. Her foot caught several times before she stopped and huffed in irritation. The small eye-plants were growing more abundantly along the walls and as they cooed together Danica couldn't help but be reminded of the lullabies she sang every night to her siblings.

She trailed her fingers over one of the plants' stems, "I wish this could be easier..."

"Ah but it could be," the man from afore said in a sing-songy voice, "and for such a small price too."

"How could the life of my firstborn child be a small price?" Danica scoffed and cupped the plant's eyeball in her hand. The plant crooned and purred. "Who are you anyway?"

The man giggled in delight before bowing in a mocking fashion, "Rumplestiltskin at your service."

Danica shook her head at him and smiled. "Danica. You have a strange name," she said as she abandoned the plant, much to its dismay, and continued down the path.

"As do you," he said and giggled.

They rounded a corner before the came across a large plain of turns and twists. Danica huffed and trudged forth. After a myriad of turns Danica cried in frustration when they came across yet another turn. It felt like they'd been turning for an eternity.

Rumplestiltskin had long since given up on following behind her and settled for sitting on the maze wall to watch her struggle. He giggled in delight when Danica stopped and hit one of the walls in frustration.

"Giving up so soon, dearie?"

"Shut up."

"The deal still stands..." he said and hopped down from the wall. He held out a contract and a frilly feather pen. "Just sign on the dotted line," he said and twirled his fingers in the air.

Danica moved towards the pen, never grabbing it- her hands hovering over it. She could have sworn Rumplestiltskin was ready to burt from excitement. But she snatched her hand back and stomped around yet another turn.

"Shove it," Danica growled.

The path cleared in front of her, opening into a forest. She thanked her lucky stars and made quick work of leaving the endless turns behind her. She kept walking until she reached a mirky pool. The water shimmered and shadows kept shifting underneath the surface.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you," Rumplestiltskin said from behind her.

"Yeah, I agree with you on that one. What is in the water anyway?"

"Leeches," said someone from behind her. It wasn't Rumplestiltskin, the man's voice lacked the undertone of mocking that Rumplestiltskin's had.

Danica turned slowly to face the Goblin King, who was standing a few feet away with a dark frown coloring his face. He lifted the riding crop that he held in his hand and pointed it at Rumplestiltskin and back to Danica.

"What is going on here?" the Goblin King demanded. He pointed the riding crop back at Rumplestiltskin. "I forbade you from helping, hadn't I?"

In response Rumplestiltskin giggled and disappeared to reapear behind the Goblin King. "She has yet to agree to the deal," he giggled, "Haven't _helped _yet..."

The Goblin King spun and faced Rumplestiltskin, his fist turning white around the riding crop. A moment passed where they stared each other down- Rumplestiltskin with a comical twinkle in his eye the whole time.

"Don't interfere, this is none of your bussiness," the Goblin King growled, "Or I'll throw you in the Bog..."

"Of eternal stech-e," Rumplestiltskin mocked. "The threat's growing old, dearie. You'll have to try harder to scare me off, Jareth." His tone had turned dangerous.

Jareth spun and directed his gaze of fury on Danica. She shrank back, tumbling into the leech-filled pool. She sputtered and burst to the surface for air. The pool was deeper than she was tall and Danica struggled to keep her head above the water.

Rumple stood close to the edge staring down at her. He looked worried.

"Try not to move, dearie," Rumple suggested.

Danica frowned up at him in question until she felt something graze past her legs. She prepared to launched herself to the edge of the pool but he cried at her to stop. She froze.

"They'll latch on if you move, so hold still, dearie" Rumplestiltskin commanded.

"Why do you care anyway?" Danica whispered, tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"I can't make a deal with someone who's been eaten by leeches, now can I?"

"Eaten?" Danica cried, "Help me!"

"How about we make a deal?" he smiled, exposing his yellow teeth.

"What kind of a deal?" Her voice was shaking. She kept slipping under the water.

"I'll get you out... if in return you give me," he paused and tapped his chin before matching her gaze with a malicious smile, "... one of your siblings."

"Anything else," Danica begged. Another leech grazed past her stomache. "Please!"

"Just kidding," he said, "How about a favour?"

Danica nodded her head, "Okay, just help me."

Rumplestiltskin snapped his fingers. Danica appeared next to him, curled up on the ground. He giggled and offered his hand, pulling Danica to her feet.

"Thanks," Danica sighed out. She scanned the area before she turned to Rumplestiltskin with a frown, "Where did the Goblin King go?"

"Jareth?" he said and giggled, "He ran back to his wife, dearie."

"Why?"

"Leeches in the underground tend to be... _attracted_ to magic," he said and perched himself on a nearby rock. "You stirred them from slumber when you fell in."

"So? How could they have reached him if he wasn't even in the water?"

"They jump out," he said and scrunched up his nose.

Danica nodded slowly. "Why didn't you run?"

Rumplestiltskin shrugged, "I'm powerful enough to prevent it."

Danica wringed out her wet shirt before she continued down the path. Rumplestiltskin followed after her, his hands folded behind his back.


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you know where you are heading, dearie?" Rumplestiltskin asked, his hands behind his back.

"Yes..." Danica stopped and looked ahead in the path she was following. It was a lot greener than when she first came into the labyrinth, and a lot warmer. But there was no clear indication of whereto the path lead.

Danica turned to Rumplestiltskin with a frown. He was smirking. Danica pondered a moment longer before she turned and continued down the path.

"I'm heading down the path."

"And do you know to where the path will take us?"

"No, not yet."

Rumplestiltskin giggled from behind her. When Danica turned to glare at him he was gone. She huffed and continued on her way.

"Who needs him anyway."

It wasn't until Rumplestiltskin was gone that she noticed the eye-plants that grew in small clusters on the side of the path. The plants cooed up at her, begging her to stop and shower them with attention. Danica was tempted but she knew she had to press forward. She glanced at her watch, she had only ten hours left. She mumbled her apologies to the plant and rushed down the path.

She continued down it until she came to where the path split into several different directions, each looking as promising as the next. Thick trees separated the paths from one another. The first path was as green as the path as she had followed before, vines and greenery grew abundantly on either side of the path. The second was a dry and sandy path, cracks had formed in the path and dried roots were spread alongide the path. The third path was covered in a thick mist, obscuring her view of what laid ahead.

Her first idea was to randomly select one but something told her it was not a smart choice. She had never truly liked the unknown so she shied away from the thrid path. The second path didn't hold any alure either. She huffed and pulled the red book from where she had stuffed it in her back pocket when she first arrived in the labyrinth. She hadn't gotten the chance to finish the book but she could recall something she had read within.

"'Nothing is ever what it seems'... Well that helps a lot," Danica huffed, "what exactly is these paths supposed to be then?"

She stood a moment before she stuffed the book back into her back pocket. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"It's better to know what you're getting yourself into I suppose," she said and looked down the dry path. She could see the heat shimmering over the path and a sandy wind blowing in the distance. "But it might be better to take a chance once in a while and move away from the familiar."

Taking a deep breath she pushed through the thick mist that hung over the path. Several moments passed before she broke through the mist. On the other side a soft dirt path twisted into the distance, small pink rosebushes grew either side of the path. Directly in front of Danica Rumplestiltskin was reclined on a white rock.

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd show up," Rumplestiltskin said.

He stood and dusted of his jacket before straightening to face her.

"What?"

"You took your time getting here, stopped to pet the plants along the way?"

Danica frowned, "No, I didn't. There were a few other paths to rule out."

"Of course. After you," he said and bowed, gesturing down the path.

"Why do you keep following me?"

"Let's just say I'm invested in your future." With a giggle he started down the path.

"I'm not going to agree to that deal."

Rumplestiltskin turned back to her, trailing his eyes up and down her form and with a smirk said, "I wouldn't count on it."

Danica shook her head and walked past him, down the path.

RJRJR

Jareth stared irritably at the crystal he held in his hand. "He's helping her, again," he said, not taking his eyes off of the crystal.

"If I recall correctly I had a little help as well."

Jareth turned to glance at his wife, who stood next to his throne. With a flick of his hand the crystal disappeared and with his now-empty hands he pulled his wife onto his lap.

"Hogwash was as little help as a blind cripple," Jareth said, cupping his wife's jaw in his hand. "Rumplestiltskin is too helpful."

"But I'd never have made it to the Goblin City without _Hoggle_."

Jareth huffed a laugh, "You doubt yourself too much."

She smiled at that, tracing her fingers over his lips. "And you doubt the Labyrinth too much. It will not allow her to win if she's not worthy, you know that..."

Jareth sighed, turning his gaze toward the choas that could only be cauzed by goblins. They had renewed their determination to destroy his throne room and it was all to blame on his wife. After she had won the Labyrinth and said those words that broke his heart none of the goblins dared come near him. He was devastated and angry. But she summoned him, wishing herself apart of his life only a few days later.

He gazed at her from the corner of his eye, watching a loving smile dance over her lips when a goblin scampered past.

"You turn my world upside down, Sarah."

"You turn mine right-side up," she said and kissed him.


	5. Chapter 5

_I've been gone a while, and I apologise for it. Enjoy the chapter._

* * *

"I have no idea where I am," Danica admitted with a sigh. She slumped down on a nearby boulder, drawing her knees up to her chest.

There was a wall of trees in front of her, blocking her from moving farther down the path. Though, she supposed that every maze would have dead ends. She'd have to turn around.

With a sigh she glanced at her watch; eight hours left. But once she turned to head back the way she came, a wall had appeared there. She was boxed in.

"Hey, over here," a small goblin called.

The goblin was perched in front of a door, which hadn't been there before. He grinned up at her, showing her his yellowing teeth.

"The name's Bob," the goblin said, "and I'm here to tell you that you've got a choice. Either go back the way you came or go through this here door."

Danica glanced back at the stone wall that should have been the path she had taken before looking back at Bob. His furry face and pointed ears were a dark orange, and the rest of him was purple. He was leaning against the door, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'll go through this door," Danica said and lifted her hand to turn the knob.

"Wait!" Bob cried, "You can't just go barging in there, what ifs the people were sleeping in there?"

"Why would they be sleeping? It's still light out."

Bob scratched his chin before grinning at Danica, "You have a point. But before you can go through, I want something in return."

"What?" Danica asked, "My first born, or one of my siblings?"

"No,no. What would I do with that?" Bob stuck out his tungue and gagged.

"Then what?"

"I want a kiss." Bob nodded to himself.

"A kiss? Why?"

"'cause kingy said if I get a girl to kiss me I'd turn into a prince," Bob said with a prided smile, "Kingy said I couldn't kiss his lady, I had to find my own."

"And what if you don't turn into a prince?" Danica asked.

"Then I'll be angry, at kingy not at you." Bob didn't stop smiling, though.

"Alright."

Danica bent down and kissed Bob on his cheek. Nothing happened and Bob frowned, twirling his fingers in front of him. Then he started to sniffle before he started to full out cry.

"Ah, don't cry. You look like a prince to me. Just like a mini Goblin King," Danica said, hugging Bob to her.

"You think so?" Bob asked as he pulled away, "I looks like kingy?"

"Yes."

Bob beamed up at her before he turned and opened the door behind him. Danica stepped past him and made it about two steps before the ground gave out beneath her.

"Help!"

RJRJR

"Greetings, dearie," Rumplestiltskin said, making Sarah jump in surprise.

She held her hand to her chest as she searched for him, her eyes dancing past the large bookcases that took up most of the space in the library. He was sitting in the window across from her chair.

She smiled at him and put her book down, "Rumpel, it's really good to see you. You should have come by the palace sooner."

"Jareth wouldn't have liked that," he said, scrunching his nose and baring his rotting teeth.

"Since when do you care what he thinks?" Sarah laughed, "You certainly didn't care when you crashed our wedding and scared half our guests to death."

"That's different," he said, "he owed me a favour and I was craving for wedding cake."

Sarah stood and made her way to Rumplestiltskin.

"It's really good to see you," Sarah said.

Rumplestiltskin giggled and jumped to his feet before he bowed to her. He stared up at her mid-bow to flash his dirty teeth at her.

"I heard you're helping my niece with the Labyrinth."

"Haven't helped yet, she has to sign the contract first," Rumplestiltskin said and giggled, sitting back on the windowsill.

Sarah sighed and sat down next to Rumplestiltskin. "Who's the baby for this time?"

"You."

Sarah's eyes grew wide, "Why?" She scooted away from Rumplestiltskin so that her back was against the wall. Her hand strayed to her stomach.

"No need to worry, dearie," Rumplestiltskin said, holding his hands in the air before pointing to her stomach, "That one won't be harmed."

Sarah sighed, allowing her shoulders to slump, "Then why?"

Rumplestiltskin giggled and twirled his fingers in the air, "A child born with magic will need a strong hand in raising it- not an eighteen year old with her own issues to sort out."

"Danica..."

"Yes, yes, yes. She'll meet a stranger whom she'll think she loves. And then the child will be born."

"Does Jareth know?"

"No."

Rumplestiltskin flung his head to the side. A sigh escaped his lips. "I have to save that niece of yours."

He disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

RJRJR

Danica hung upside down over an abyss by her foot, which had caught on a vine. Soil and who-knows-what kept trickling down her legs and back.

"Hold on, girly!" Bob cried.

Danica felt Bob climb down her back. His head appeared in her vision moments later as he hung from her shoulders.

"Helo."

"Bob, go find help."

"I'm helping," Bob stated, nodding his head frantically.

For long moments they only stared at each other before Bob started to giggle and nearly lost his balance because of it. Danica steadied him just in time.

"Bob, please. Go find help."

"You could have called, dearie," Rumplestiltskin called from above.

"I'm not going to sign my children over to you!"

Rumplestiltskin giggled, "I want just the one- the first one."

Danica cried out in frustration, nearly letting Bob fall from her shoulders. She heard Rumplestiltskin giggle from above.

"I can't."

"Then you'll fall, dearie, for all eternity."

"I can't think with all this blood rushing to my head!" Danica cried.

"It's easier than you think, dearie. Agree to our deal and I'll save your life."

"How about I owe you another favour."

"No, I'd like to cash the first one, dearie. Sign the contract, save your life and clear your deb**t.**"

"Then I don't really have a choice..."

"Oh, you always have a choice, dearie."

"I agree..."

She hardly had time to scream when the vine snapped and she started to plummet to her death.


End file.
